Last for the cleaning of footwear



y 1969 F. URIOSTE HERMIDA 3,454,972

LAST FOR THE CLEANING OF FOOTWEAR Filed June 27, 1967 INVENTOR 5; 1p: URIOS rel-lemma OEY United States Patent 3,454,972 LAST FOR THE CLEANING OF FOOTWEAR Felipe Urioste Hermida, Pirineos 21, Madrid, Spain Filed June 27, 1967, Ser. No. 649,342 Int. Cl. A43d 11/00, 95/00 US. Cl. 1253.7 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A particularly important characteristic of the invention is concerned with the fact it includes two pieces articulated one with respect to the other in the form of a scissors, of which pieces one is endowed with means to fix it to a surface so that it does not move, for example, to fix it to a wall, and there are means at the other end to adapt it to the interior of the rear part or heel of the shoe; the other piece has means to facilitate its manipulation as well as means to make it adaptable to the interior of the anterior part of toe of the shoe, which cavity it fills.

Another characteristic of the invention refers to the fact that it has means to fix both the articulated parts in the angular position appropriate to the dimensions and form of the shoe with the aim of holding it during the operation of cleaning.

A further characteristic of the invention refers to the fact that the parts which can be housed in the interior of the shoe are designed in such a manner as to adapt themselves perfectly to any model of shoe, whether mens or womens thus obtaining the most suitable and uniform contact with the corresponding support surfaces.

With the aim of providing a better interpretation of the invention, the annexed drawing shows a practical form of industrial implementation of the invent-ion, which is described in what follows, and which is included merely by way of information and is, consequently, not in any sense limitat-ive of the scope of the said invention.

In the said drawing, a perspective view is shown of one form of the invention arranged to be coupled to the support fixed to a vertical surface. As is shown in the said drawing, the invention consists of an elbow-bend arm, which is substantially flat, endowed at the bend with a rounded projecting piece on which there is situated the shaft-screw 6 by means of which the other member of the last, consisting of piece No. 7 is articulated.

The posterior end of the element 1 is fixed by small feet or pins 2 which are situated on the said end, and which form lateral projecting pieces both superior and inferior. The said piece is intended to fit in to the support 3, constituted by the plate endowed with drill holes for the passage of means for fixing it to the wall, the principal characteristic of which is that it presents on its front the two pairs of tongues and 4, of which the first differs from the second in that their interior edge is oblique. Since the position of the said tongue is staggered, a perfect adjustment of the terminal 2 is obtained, thus determining the most appropriate fixing of the device, without that preventing the removal of the element 1 from the support by means of a vertical movement.

Extending downwardly from the end of element 1 opposite the aforementioned mounting bracket is a vertical member 14 which has the element 16 articulated by 3,454,972 Patented July 15, 1969 means of the bolt-screw 15, the said end being housed in a central groove.

As may be seen, the element 16 is in the form of an elbow bend with its anterior end broadened and the superior posterior end becoming progressively narrower. Its anterior end may be covered with an enveloping piece 17, composed of plastic or elastic material, by means of which it is supported and adjusted, thus preventing slipping or sliding against the interior surface.

The piece 7 has in its middle part, concentric with its axis of articulation, the toothed part 10, against which there is projected the pawl 11, housed in the case 13, which may be moved manually in order to overcome the action of the spring, which thrusts it against the said toothed part, by means of the slow projecting piece 12.

The upper part of the piece 7 takes the form of a handle 8 and is housed in its other end in the interior of the piece 9.

The anterior part of the said piece 7 is entirely covered by the piece 9 which presents a fusifonn shape with its end rounded and its upper surface slightly curved, this providing the most eflicient adaptation to the shoe.

The pawl makes it possible to fix both the articulated pieces in the desired angular position, so that pieces 9 and 16 will adapt themselves perfectly to the shape of any type of shoe.

A particular important advantage of piece 16 is the fact that its posterior end facilitates its adaptation to womens shoes, especially those which have a posterior strip of which do not have heels. Further, because of the cooperation between toe piece 9 and the heel engaging member 16, the last constructed according to the principles of my invention will rigidly hold a shoe of virtually any size mounted thereon, without the need for substituting toe pieces.

Having sufliciently described the nature of the invention, it is only necessary to add that any change in material form or arrangement which does not alter the fundamental characteristics of same is included in the subject of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. An improved last for the cleaning of footwear to be placed thereon, comprising a vertical fixed elongated member having an upper end and a lower end,

a heel engaging member pivotally attached to said lower end of said vertical member, said heel engaging member being shaped like the human heel and having a lower horizontal member adapted to engage substantially all of the heel portion of the sole of a shoe, exerting a downward force thereon and a vertical member extending upwardly from the rear portion of said horizontal member adapted to engage the back of the heel portion of a shoe exerting a rearward lateral force thereon, said heel engaging member being attached to said vertical fixed elongated member at the juncture of said horizontal member and said vertical member,

a lever arm pivotally attached to said upper end of said vertical fixed elongated member, said lever arm having integrally attached to an end thereof remote from the point at which said lever arm is pivotally attached to said upper end of said vertical fixed elongated member, an elongated elliptical toe piece adapted to engage with and exert an upward force on the upper toe portion of a shoe of substantially any size, said lever arm being adapted to move in an upward scissor-like motion with respect to said vertical fixed elongated member until said toe piece engages with the upper toe portion of a shoe causing an upward force to be exerted on said upper toe portion and causing said heel engaging member to exert said downward force and said rearward lateral force on the heel portion of a shoe, and means for releasably locking said lever arm when said toe piece engages the upper toe portion of a shoe.

2. The improved last defined in claim 1 having in addition a handle means attached to said lever arm at the point of attachment of said lever arm to said vertical fixed elongated member and extending upwardly therefrom for moving said lever arm.

3. The improved last defined in claim 1 having in addition a bracket means adapted to be attached to a vertical surface and a mOunting means attached to said vertical elongated member and adapted to engage with said bracket means for mounting said last on a vertical surface.

4. The improved last defined in claim 1 wherein said bracket means comprises a plate adapted to be secured to a vertical surface and having mutually opposed and mutually inwardly directed tongues, at least a diagonally opposed pair of said tongues having oblique edges, and wherein said mounting means comprises a horizontal arm having mounted on an end thereof flange members adapted to engage behind said tongues.

5. The improved last defined in claim 1 wherein said horizontal member of said heel engaging member has the surface thereof adjacent the sole of a shoe covered with a material which will prevent slippage when said heel engaging member is in contact with the sole of a shoe.

6. The improved last of claim 1 wherein said means for releasably locking said lever arm comprises a rounded toothed ratchet means substantially concentric with the point of pivotal attachment of said lever arm to said vertical fixed elongated member, a pawl means mounted on said vertical fixed elongated member and a spring means adapted to bias said pawl into engagement with said ratchet means, said pawl being manually releasable from engagement with said ratchet means to allow said lever arm to be moved, said teeth of said ratchet means having an angular orientation with respect to said pawl such that said pawl will be held in engagement therewith when a downward force is exerted on said lever arm at said toe piece.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 729,228 5/1903 Skinner 1253.7 746,187 12/1903 Snowdon l2-53.7 837,404 12/1906 Hine l253.7

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner US Cl. X.R. 12117.4 

